Thursday, May 27, 2010

Kevin Drum on 'Oil Spill Kabuki'

I feel like I should say something about the big press conference Obama just held. It's not like he does a whole lot of them. But it seemed pretty soporific to me. On the one hand, it's true that when he said he was "angry and frustrated" about the BP oil spill, he sure didn't seem very angry or frustrated. On the other hand, watching the CNN dimwits after the conference solemnly advising us one after one that Obama really needed to be more emotional because that's what the American people want — well, screw that. I have no idea what the American people want, and neither do they.

In times like this, I'm not looking for a leader to give folks a warm fuzzy. I'm seeking a cold, methodical manager who believes that execution is more important than elocution.

There will be plenty of time to sit around the fire and talk about how we felt when we heard the news that a major oil company had killed a huge section of our environment while MMS personnel frolicked in piles of hookers and blow.